How is the "My tax return" page structured?

1 Enter data

In the "Enter data" section of SteuerGo, your information for the tax return is recorded using the tax interview. The interview compiles the relevant questions by topic and guides you step-by-step through the relevant pages of your tax return.

Are you participating in the electronic data retrieval? Here you can retrieve your electronic data directly from your tax office if you wish.

2 Tax saving tips

Under this section, you will find current tax tips tailored to your tax situation to help you save even more on your tax return.

3 Check data

During the data check, the data you entered in the tax return is checked for plausibility, e.g. whether your personal details are fully entered.

4 Submit tax return

If you want to submit your tax return, you will find the link to the "Submission" page here.

Note: To submit your tax return to the relevant tax office, your tax return must first be paid for and thus activated.

After you have submitted your tax return electronically for the first time, you will find the receipt confirmation from the tax office (with Telenumber and transfer ticket) along with all important documents related to your tax return available for download here.

Send documents to the tax office

You have the option in all federal states to submit digital documents to the tax authorities. However, you should not send documents unsolicited. The tax authorities expressly request that documents be submitted only after a request from the tax office.

For more information, see the section "Send documents to the tax office".

Restart tax return submission

If you discover an error after submitting the tax return, you can reset and restart a submission that has already been made here.

For changes, simply go through all the steps for submitting the tax return again. The tax office will start processing only after receiving the signed tax return. If you have already submitted, you can reset and resubmit the submission process using the "Restart tax return submission" button.

5 Check tax assessment notice

Here you can check your electronic tax assessment notice and lodge an objection in the event of discrepancies.

As soon as the tax authorities make the electronic tax assessment notice available for collection via ELSTER, you will receive an automatic notification by email from SteuerGo. SteuerGo provides helpful tips and templates for lodging an objection.

Note: The tax assessment check is available from the 2012 tax year and must be activated for a fee!

Information about your tax office

Here you will find the current postal address and contact details (telephone, fax, email) of your relevant tax office, which you previously selected in the input area. The address of the tax office is also automatically entered in the address field when generating sample letters, if desired.

Based on the tax returns submitted by our customers so far, we can also provide you with information on the average processing time for a tax return at your tax office!

For enquiries about the processing status, you have the relevant contact details directly available. Here you also have the option to provide a rating for your tax office.

Sample letters

In this area, you will find sample letters and applications on various tax topics. The templates each include a suitable standard text and placeholders for required data, so you can easily create an individual document.

Online tax calculators

Unfortunately, it is not easy to keep track of the necessary details in the world of taxation. Every year, various changes are made: newly introduced regulations, such as changed deduction amounts, can cause uncertainty and confusion among those affected. Our free tax calculators provide quick answers to your questions.

With the online tax calculators from SteuerGo, you can quickly get an overview of the expected tax burden, your actual net salary, or the government support for your private pension provision.

How is the "My tax return" page structured?

What is the purpose of data retrieval?

Data retrieval is a service offered by SteuerGo. Through data retrieval, you can access personal data stored about you at your tax office and import it directly into your tax return. The tax authorities also refer to the data provided as the "pre-filled tax return" (VaSt). (More information at: What is electronic data retrieval?)

Once you have set up the service, you will immediately know what data the tax office has about you. Note: Data can only be retrieved for the last 4 tax years, i.e. in the year 2026 you can retrieve data for 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022.

You can then transfer the provided data with just a few clicks into your income tax return with SteuerGo. This means you do not have to enter the data yourself. Your data is transferred directly into the corresponding fields of the income tax return, thus largely avoiding input errors. You only need to check the transferred data for accuracy. 

This gives you more time for additions that can really save taxes, such as expenses for craftsmen's services, work-related expenses or special expenses.

What is the purpose of data retrieval?

How do I submit my tax return?

For the current tax year, the following submission methods are available to you:

1. Online submission with Elster certificate

You submit your tax return completely online with your personal Elster certificate.

• No printing, no signature, no postal delivery required
• Requirement: Valid Elster certificate
• Tip: Particularly suitable for users who regularly submit their tax return electronically

2. Online submission with identification

Even without your own certificate, a fully electronic submission is possible – after a one-time digital identification.

• No postal delivery required
• Required: One-time identification (e.g. via ID card or account verification)
• Note: Ideal for users without their own Elster certificate

How do I submit my tax return?

What is the deadline for submitting the tax return?

If you prepare your tax return for the year 2025 yourself – for example, with SteuerGo – the following legal deadline applies:

Submission deadline: 31 July 2026

Your tax return must be received by the tax office by this date.

The deadline is legally regulated in Section 149, Paragraph 2 of the Fiscal Code (AO). If you miss the deadline, a late fee may be imposed according to Section 152 AO.

If you miss the deadline, a late fee may be incurred.

Apply for an extension – but in good time!

• An extension is possible if you are obliged to submit.
• The application must be submitted before 31 July 2026.
• As a rule, an extension is granted until 30 September 2026.

Basis: Section 109 AO (Extension of deadline by the tax office in individual cases)

Voluntary submission: More time for your return

If you are not obliged to submit, you can submit your tax return voluntarily – and even up to four years retroactively.

For the tax year 2025, this means: Voluntary submission possible until 31 December 2029

Legal basis: Section 169, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1, No. 2 AO.

Tip: Contact the tax office if in doubt

Are you unsure whether you are obliged to submit? Then ask your relevant tax office. They will provide you with reliable information.

What is the deadline for submitting the tax return?

Who is required to submit a tax return?

Whether you are required to submit an income tax return for the year 2025 depends on your personal situation. In many cases, there is no obligation – however, there are exceptions. The legal basis is § 46 Income Tax Act (EStG).

When is there an obligation to submit?

A tax return is mandatory if:

• You received wage replacement benefits (e.g. parental allowance, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit) of over 410 Euro per year (progression clause),
• You had multiple simultaneous employments where one was taxed under tax class VI,
• You and your spouse or civil partner chose the tax class combination III/V or IV with factor,
• You had additional income of over 410 Euro (e.g. from self-employment, rental, capital gains without withholding tax or pensions),
• You were requested to submit by the tax office.

Detailed information on the mandatory assessment for employees can be found here: Obligation to submit a tax return.

When is there no obligation to submit?

Submission is generally not required if:

• You were employed by one employer only in 2025,
• You were classified in tax class I,
• You had no wage replacement benefits or additional income,
• none of the special cases mentioned apply.

Tip: Voluntary submission can be worthwhile

Even without an obligation, a so-called application assessment can be worthwhile. Many employees receive an average refund of over 1.000 Euro – for example, due to work-related expenses, special expenses or exceptional burdens that were not taken into account in the wage tax deduction.

When in doubt: Ask the tax office

If you are unsure whether you need to submit, your local tax office can help.

Who is required to submit a tax return?

How does the search of SteuerGo work?

If you need help with a specific topic, simply use the search function of SteuerGo. Enter your search term in the search box and click on “Search”.

Search results and functions:

• You will receive an overview of all texts containing the search term.
• The search considers:
  • Your entered data,
  • visible and not yet visible input fields,
  • help texts and advisory texts.
• Simply select the appropriate text from the list of results.

Tips for better search results:

• Combine multiple search terms to get more accurate results. Only texts containing all terms will be displayed.
• If no results are displayed:
  • Check the spelling of your search terms.
  • Use fewer or more general keywords.
• Capitalisation does not matter. Whether you enter “Sonderausgaben” or “sonderausgaben” – the results remain the same.

How does the search of SteuerGo work?